Inferno
by bloodredbutterfly15
Summary: Its an Inferno that gonna burn everything to hell. Azula's best friend Lazuli enters team avatar as a spy. What happens when she meets the banished prince about whom she had heard so much about but never met. Will she have a change of heart or will she let the evil inside consume herself? ZukoxOC


INFERNO

I look out the window of the train and see the ancient city of Ba-sing-se. The capital of the earth kingdom and the city which fire nation has tried to conquer for the last 100 years. I look towards the gigantic wall guards the city from everything else, the wall which guards the city from us. And here I am at the threshold of breaching the city. After general Iroh 'the dragon of the west' abandoned the mission because his only son died, Ba-sing-se had tightened their security tenfold and made sure fire nation would never again enter their secured city. It was the fact that the earth kingdom had not completely fallen that gave hope to the other tribes. Hope is the only thing stronger than me heartless but I blame general Iroh for shattering after his son's death and coming home defeated. His small weakness is the reason we took so long to send even a spy in.

"Ba-sing-se is going to burn to ground" I whisper to myself

"Lea? Did you say anything?" Katara asks, apparently my 'whisper' had been a bit too loud.

I shake my head in response.

It took me a while but I had made it into the famous 'Team avatar'. Katara had taken immediate liking of the poor earth kingdom girl I pretended to be whose family was shattered by the cruel, sadistic fire nation, the same way her was. Sokka and Aang were a little skeptic about taking an unknown girl into the group but I won them over with my innocence. What to say…I have always been a brilliant actor

"What do you think will happen? If the fire nation takes over the earth kingdom?"

"Let's just hope that never happens" She replies.

"yeah! We'll kick that old fire lord's butt before that happens!" Sokka assures us

"Stupid fire nation people…it's like their born evil or something" Toph adds

"We are here" I say, completely ignoring Toph's comment about my nation and me.

Once inside, the city looks more like an organized safe prison. Divided into rings, the more important the people the inner ring they lived in. At the heart of the city was the king's palace. Everything seemed so extraordinarily peaceful but yet somewhat tense, like someone was holding a knife at your neck and asking you to ignore it and be calm.

"This is the outer ring of the city where the refugees, artisans, craftsmen and the newcomers live" Our attendant, an annoyingly high-pitched robotic woman call Joo Dee explains us. Huh, like any of this really matters.

"I don't want to make a life in this prison!" I hear someone say. I look outside the window trying to find the person. It certainly couldn't be a refugee or a resident but then who was it?

I search through the sea of people flooding the city, hoping to make a new beginning of their life which had been uprooted by the fire nation. Suddenly, something catches my eye – a scar. No ordinary scar but the kind that could only be done by fire. I crane my neck out of the window hoping that the person is who I think it is and not some stupid peasant who was foolish enough to fight with a fire-bender.

The person turns his head, as if sensing that someone's spying on him and as he does that I freeze. A zillion childhood memories come back to me. Azula talked about him when it was only the both of us, she didn't like showing that she cared but deep down one could tell she missed her 'little' elder brother or at least, missed bullying him. We had met a few weeks after he was banished so I never really got a chance to meet him. Within weeks I was best friends with princess of fire nation and that was where everything began. I was the only one—except perhaps azula's father—who she treated as an equal. She had told me possibly everything there was to know about him, how she always teased him, was mean to him, treated him like he was the unfortunate one in the family and to some extent mentally tortured him.

"Lea? You okay?" Katara asks in a concerned voice "First I hear you talking to yourself and now you're in some kind of trance… is everything all right?"

"Yeah... It's just that, I thought I saw someone from home... I miss my family so much. I finally made it to Ba-sing-se but they are not here with me" I reply in an 'oh-so-sad' tone.

"Don't worry, we are your family now" Katara hugs me and says

"Yeah! And families always have each other's backs" Toph added while punching her on her back.

"What was that for?"

"That's my way of showing affection" Toph grinned and said.

If it wasn't for my lack of conscience I had acquired from spending too much time with Azula and fire lord Ozai, I would've actually felt sad for later having to back-stab them. Nation before blood is the first thing I remember my father say. I knew he would be proud of me when I return after capturing Ba sing se but was it necessary? I believe I am a good person, I believe I am just doing my duty towards my nation. But nothing about betraying the people who had accepted me into their group within few days seemed 'good' or 'patriotic'

I pretend to listen to whatever Joo dee says but honestly, when you are a spy on a mission to help conquer an entire city, betray the people who had accepted you as their 'family' and keep an eye on a banished prince - listening to robotic women with infuriatingly high-pitched voice isn't your top priority.

"We're here! this is the inner-most ring where only the most important people live. As the avatar and his friends, the earth kingdom holds great regard for you and hopes you a pleasant stay." Joo dee tells us and leaves

"Finally! I felt like scorching that woman alive" I say after the woman leaves, forgetting all about keeping my identity a secret. Scorching someone alive isn't typically what a non-bender who hated fire nation said they would do. Aang, Katara, Toph and Sokka stare at me like I have just revealed my identity. I might as well have.

"Scorching?" Aang asks. His big grey eyes looking at me in surprise like I am going to fire bend the next moment or turn into a blazing red dragon.

"Or throw ice shards or rocks at her. None which I sadly can do" I add weakly. One slip up and the entire plan would turn ashes. _Damn it Lazuli! You have to stop using fire references. Your nation's future and your reputation are in your hands. _Being a double agent isn't as easy as I thought it would be

"Its okay buddy, I know how it feels not being able to bend and show-off your skill to save the world but wait…close your eyes" Sokka tells me. He had enough experience about it to write a book titled 'how to handle being a non-bender' and right now I desperately needed a book like that. It had been almost a week since I last fire bended and my hands have been itching to do it again ever since.

"Open your eyes"

He hands me is dazzling silver blade with a blue handle with wave designs and the water tribe symbol. The craftsmanship is exquisite

"It's beautiful" I say sincerely. Normally, I wouldn't compliment anything associated with the water tribe but this thing really was beautiful.

"Read the inscriptions" Katara smiles and tells me

I touch the intricately carved inscriptions and read it aloud 'Follow your heart and you'll find your destiny'

Something inside me crashes as I read the lines. I think about my entire life, everything I thought I knew. How my mother died when I was nine, how my father was too busy commanding the fire nation army that he let me go astray; he loved me of course but he loved his country more, how I and Azula bonded because we understood each other and how I am going to help her capture the earth kingdom. Did I ever follow my heart? No

'The heart is the one that deceives; the mind is the one that perceives.' Is what I had heard once and from that day on, the words somewhat froze in my heart. And now it appears as though they are melting away. No, I can't let myself become like them…I mean look at them. A runaway girl who used to steal, the avatar who was frozen in ice for 100 years and two water tribe peasants who are here because they have nothing better to do. They are beneath me

"My father gave this to me when he was leaving the tribe. I want you to have it."

Done. My well- practiced mask just fades away.

"Sokka, I can't…your father gave it to you. It's yours."

"and I want you to have it. Plus I have my best friend…." He puts his hand behind his back "Mr. Boomerang with me! yeah! This baby can take on any bender."

"Oh really? " Toph challenged "let see what your Mr. Boomerang can do."

Toph creates a slide out of rock which goes out of the house and into the pond on the lawn and sends Sokka right to the top of it

"Aaahhh!" Sokka shouts as he reaches at the bottom and PLUNK! Into the water

"Katara, would you like to take it from here?" Toph asks in her most lady-like voice.

"It would be my pleasure" Katara bows and accepts. And the next moment, Sokka is going round and round in a giant ball of water. After a while, Katara decides to drop him on the cactus flowers planted."

"OWw! That hurt!" Sokka yells at her

"What? I just thought that those plants needed some water" Katara smiles in an innocent way and says

"Don't worry buddy, I'll help you" Aang tells him as he air-bends him out of the pit and into the house.

"Ugh! I am dripping wet" Sokka complains and just as he does, a really strong wind bursts at him making his hair stand up like porcupine hair.

"There! Now you're dry" Aang says enthusiastically

"Yeah, thanks Aang" Sokka says sarcastically and then all of a sudden everyone around me starts laughing. I join in, not wanting to seem out of place.

Why is Sokka laughing with them? He became the joke that we should be laughing about. Why doesn't he get angry at his sister for treating him like that? If anyone had the guts to treat me like this they would guarantee a fire blast right at their face.

"So weird" I murmur and detach myself from the group and move towards the window

Something in the air catches my eye. I stare out and see the fire nation messenger hawk soar above the house.

Even after everything me and the gang have been through to reach Ba-sing-se safely, it doesn't change anything and there is only one thing going in my mind

_They Are Going Down_


End file.
